Al Khobar (Saudi Arabia), Oct 4 (UNI) India kicked off their AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers in style, defeating Maldives 5-0 at the Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium in Al Khobar on Tuesday.
Captain Vanlalpeka Guite, Lalhmingchhuanga Fanai, Aman, Boby Singh, Phoenix Oinam scored a goal each to make it a five-star performance for India.
India got off on the front foot, with Huzafah and Boby orchestrating attacks down the left flank. The Blue Colts came close to opening the scoring in the 9th minute when a Vanlalpeka Guite corner from the left was almost turned in by Faizan. However, the ball went agonisingly close to the goal, travelling parallelly to the goal line, before going out of play.